The Remarkable SaaS Podcast

A story about removing the problem others make easier. This episode is for sales-led SaaS CEOs whose product makes a painful job easier, when customers would rather not do that job at all.Some problems shouldn't exist. The call centre is one of them.Pieter de Villiers is co-founder and CEO of Clickatell. In 2000, it was the first company to let a website text a mobile phone. In 2019, it was the first to put banking and payments on WhatsApp.So he builds to take away the reason people call. Clickatell promises its clients zero hold time within 12 months.And this inspired me to invite Pieter to my podcast.We talk about how Clickatell has stayed relevant for 26 years, and the hard choices that took. You'll hear why he passed on an IPO to lift margin in one market from 23% to 65%. And how he answers the question every CEO in a crowded market gets: why are you different?We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies:– Create new value possibilities– Sell the idea, not the productBoth are chapters in The Remarkable Effect.Pieter shows that remarkable companies stay relevant by holding on to the problem they solve, while the technology keeps changing.Here's one of Pieter's quotes that captures how he judges the value his company creates:"We've never built the company strategy based just on the margin profile. We also wanted to add value and create value. And I think margins is a truth serum around how much value are you creating."By listening to this episode, you'll learn:Why being able to serve many use cases doesn't mean you should chase them allHow asking "is this problem worth solving?" changes what you choose to buildWhy your product people should sit in on client conversationsWhat to say when a buyer tells you they'll build it themselves with AIGuest infoFor more information about the guest from this week:Guest: Pieter de Villiers, co-founder and CEO of ClickatellWebsite: clickatell.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/pieterdevilliers

A story about a 40% revenue cut that paid off. This episode is for sales-led SaaS CEOs who find it hard to say no to paying customers, even when it holds them back.Most SaaS companies count all revenue as good revenue.Alberto Gimeno, co-founder and CEO of Invofox, came into document processing as an outsider. He didn't know which customers would be best, so he tested four or five segments by selling to each of them himself.At their first million in revenue, they let 40% of it go. They kept only software companies, where net revenue retention ran at 140–150%.And this inspired me to invite Alberto to my podcast.We talk about why message-market fit and product-market fit are two separate problems. You'll also hear why pushing up your win rate too often means leaving money on the table. And why the customers who end up bringing in 85% of revenue are often hard to spot upfront.We zoom in on two of the 10 traits of remarkable software companies:Acknowledge you cannot please everyoneMaster the art of curiosityBoth are chapters in The Remarkable Effect.His story shows that remarkable software companies are prepared to cut deep into their revenue to get a focus advantage.Here's one of Alberto's quotes that captures why picking your customers is a product decision too:"Choosing a segment is not only about your go-to-market operations, it changes the product that you build. An accountant, a construction company and a developer are going to need three different things even when they're trying to solve the same problem."By listening to this episode, you'll learn:Why prospects ignore great products that don't offer a new way to see the problemWhat metric tells you most clearly whether you have product-market fitHow to test which customers are best before you commit to oneWhat your product gains when you stop serving segments that grow slowerGuest: Alberto Gimeno, co-founder and CEO of InvofoxWebsite: invofox.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/gimenoalberto

A story about learning from the customers who walked away. This episode is for SaaS CEOs who keep building features for their customers, but still lose them at renewal.Most SaaS roadmaps are focused on interesting problems, not real ones.Adrian Moza, CEO of Flipsnack, learned what that costs. He started as a developer 20 years ago, moved into support, then ran product before becoming CEO in 2022.When thousands of new templates brought customers who churned after one use, he realized Flipsnack wasn't Canva and never would be. Its job is to solve the problems customers really have.And this inspired me to invite Adrian to my podcast. We talk about what customers really want from your product. And how you can still lose big customers, even when they have no complaints about it. You'll hear how Adrian built a sales-led motion on top of PLG, without outside funding. In 2020, 15% of Flipsnack's customers were on the higher plans. Today it's 60%.We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies:Offer something valuable and desirableAcknowledge you cannot please everyoneBoth are chapters in The Remarkable Effect.Adrian's story proves what makes a software company hard to replace: solving the problem customers can't ignore.Here's one of Adrian's quotes that captures why he moved Flipsnack beyond PLG:"I still believe in PLG as a motion, but it wasn't good for us because we were creating a nice-to-have product instead of a must-have."By listening to this episode, you'll learn:Why your go-to-market should change the day your product doesWhy moving upmarket needs hires who help you grow, not hires you growHow your lowest tier can fund the move upmarket and feed your pipelineHow one strategy turns twenty scattered marketing initiatives into resultsFor more information about the guest from this week:Guest: Adrian Moza, CEO of FlipsnackWebsite: flipsnack.comLinkedIn: Adrian Moza

A story about the real problem behind every feature request. This episode is for SaaS founders who build what customers ask for and still watch new features go unused.Customer requests are where good teams go wrong.Kevin Dias, founder of Ambiki, spent three years inside a Tennessee speech therapy practice, listening to therapists and building their software as he went. That software grew into Ambiki.While building Ambiki, he wrote a book around one question: what problem are we solving, and for whom? Every feature at Ambiki starts there. No solution allowed in the answer.And this inspired me to invite Kevin to my podcast. We talk about why defining the problem matters more now that AI makes building so fast, and the three forces that push teams past that step: customers, sales and investors. Kevin also shares why he keeps saying no to a much bigger market. You'll hear what he hands his board when they ask for a roadmap.We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies:Master the art of curiosityAcknowledge you cannot please everyoneBoth are chapters in The Remarkable Effect.Kevin's story shows what remarkable companies do first. They pick the problem worth solving.Here's one of Kevin's quotes that captures his warning for teams building with AI:"Don't let the ability to quickly create features and prototypes become the evidence that you should build it. It's very easy to build it these days, but it doesn't mean you should."By listening to this episode, you'll learn:Why you can miss your customers' real problem when you copy a competitor's featureWhat changes when "what problem, for whom?" moves to the top of every feature documentHow your margin can grow when you put a smaller group of customers firstHow asking "solution or problem?" on support tickets trains a whole team to dig deeperFor more information about the guest from this week:Guest: Kevin Dias, founder of AmbikiWebsite: ambiki.comLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kevin-dias-ambikiBook: The Problem-First Method at problem-first-method.com

A story about the growth levers you can't see from inside. This episode is for SaaS founders who are working harder than ever and are not seeing the growth they aspired to.Most growth problems are hiding in plain sight.Jason Cohen is the founder of WP Engine and author of Hidden Multipliers. He has built four companies over 25 years, two of them now worth billions, and invested in sixty more.Across all of them he kept finding the same thing. A few small changes moved growth far more than everything else combined. Most companies never spot them.And this inspired me to invite Jason to my podcast. We explore why the biggest growth levers in a business stay invisible to the people running it. Jason shares what he learned about customers who cost you money, about pricing that works against you, and about strengths you never counted as strengths. You'll discover why the same product can be worth ten times more without changing a thing.We also zoom in on two of the 10 traits that define remarkable software companies:Acknowledge you cannot please everyoneSell the idea, not the productBoth are chapters in The Remarkable Effect.Jason's work proves that remarkable companies don't find more to do. They find the few things that decide everything.Here's one of Jason's quotes that captures why the answer is often already in front of you:"A lot of times people do know kind of what the answer is already, but they don't want to face it. They're scared to face it. It means they have to admit something they don't want to admit, or it means they have to do work they don't want to do."By listening to this episode, you'll learn:Why 10% of your customers decide whether the other 90% are profitableWhat changes when you name your weaknesses before the buyer finds themWhy your positioning is capping what you can chargeWhat decides whether your strongest trait helps or hurts the businessFor more information about the guest from this week:Guest: Jason Cohen, founder of WP Engine and author of Hidden MultipliersWebsite: hiddenmultipliers.com Personal site: asmartbear.com Free companion AI skills: skills.hiddenmultipliers.com